The SitePoint Forums have moved.

You can now find them here.
This forum is now closed to new posts, but you can browse existing content.
You can find out more information about the move and how to open a new account (if necessary) here.
If you get stuck you can get support by emailing forums@sitepoint.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

New here and Need Help!

I own and operate two sites for fun. If possible I may be able to get a business' to place ad's on my site. Like I said these sites are for fun not profit. I want to get more members though. How do I get my sites to pull in more members with search engines. Are there any tricks you could show an average person to make their site more visible. I have been able to figure out quite a bit from hands on experience as far as operating the sites goes. I thought it might be more than I could handle but sar far so good. Thanks ahead of time for any help you may be able to give.
Thanks again

increase site traffic

There are no "tricks" per se. First, the site has to be something of interest. (although going by some of the things I've heard of being sold on Ebay I guess just about anything could be ). It needs exposure. And it needs to keep interest.
One key area to focus on is search engines. This includes making things easier for the search bots (sitemap, valid nav links, proper mark-up, etc.), and changing/adding content to keep them coming back.
And another area is "word of mouth". Having content that others will want to link to increases your exposure and helps your SERPs.
And you could consider user participation (blog comments, a forum, image uploading etc.) too.